Chorus:
I'll never forget them/the ones that laid down their lives
I'll never forget them/The ones that died for civil rights
No I'll never forget them/even though it was a different time
But we'll never forget them/Even though they only teach us lies

1st:
Marcus, Malcolm, and Martin the king.
Huey and Bobby, Mandela, and Steve.
Harriet, Rosa, and sista Betty.
They fought in the name of black liberty.
If it wasn't for you then there wouldn't be me.
So what has happened to you should not happen to me.
And the leaders today there are none left to see.
Because they take them down with FBI and police.

(Chorus)

2nd:
Cause you lift us up and keep us up and push us straight ahead.
Never let us down though the system tried to leave us all for dead.
Yet you risk your life to obtain their rights and protect us from the Feds.
Through the pain and the strife and with all of the plight and all the tears we shed.

(Chorus)

3rd:
Got to give credit where credit is due.
Because little ones today they don't have a clue.
They have no idea what the elders went through.
They think that the lie is somehow the truth.
But we all live with pride and we are living proof.
And we won't be dismayed and we won't be aloof.
We have to get ourselves together rally the troops.
And when we see the freedom fighter come we must salute.

(Chorus)

4th:
Marcus, Malcolm, and Martin the king.
Huey and Bobby, Mandela, and Steve.
Harriet, Rosa, and sista Betty.
They fought in the name of black liberty.
If it wasn't for you then there wouldn't be me.
So what has happened to you will not happen to me.
And the leaders today there are none left to see.
They don't care about your sista or your aunt or your niece.